Tag Archives: Sergei Isupov

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Sergei Isupov was born in 1964 in Stavropol, Russia. He studied art in Ukraine, and then continued his studies in Estonia. His professional career began in 1990. He participated in exhibitions in the Baltic States, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark. In 1994, he emigrated to the United States, where he lives and works today.

Sergei Isupov’s artwork is always multifaceted. Both animal and human essence are intricately intertwined, molding surrealistic creatures right out of a dream.

Sergei Isupovinvestigates binaries in human relationships — male and female, good and evil, beautiful and grotesque. Using clay as both a material for three-dimensional expression and as a canvas for his illustrations, Isupov capitalizes on all properties of what he finds to be the most open medium. He sculpts human and animal figures, and then adds illustrations in glaze.

The paintings diffuse into the clay’s surface, like tattoos on his sculptures’ skin. Taken together, the two- and three-dimensional elements of his work establish a compacted but powerful scene of emotions and narratives.

In their ambiguity, the narratives are remote and uncomfortable. Bodies lie on the ground and embrace in unnatural positions.

Animals talk eye to eye with their human counterparts, leaning inward and speaking in hushed tones.

The influence of the Surrealist movement on Isupov’s work is obvious. Proportions are perverted and exaggerated.

He invents his own outlandish creatures, usually monsters. Although there is something off-putting in his work, his figures evoke empathy and a feeling of comfort. (Anna Carey,article in Hi Fructose.)